RichC2

Following how Sony has done it historically, it should be on Netflix around Memorial Day.

Crocker Jarmen

Even Chet Haze gets a song on the soundtrack for this. About four other songs are by Rita Wilson.

Throwing Copper

This really is a family affair. Tom Hanks stars in it and his son with Rita Wilson, the good one, plays the Young Otto.

Hanks and Wilson also produced the film. And someone said they let the train wreck son have a song in this too.

And it performed well at the box office despite middling reviews.

That Blu-Ray case is hilarious with all the blurbs of critical acclaim splattered across it.

dex14

I still say just watch the original.

SmackDaddy

We watched this yesterday and enjoyed it quite a bit. Not knowing much about it, was surprised at the main plot device that kind of drove his growth. Top tier Hanks? Nope. But still enjoyable for what it is.

Daytripper

Ugh. So agree. Watched this tonight and I thought it was absolutely terrible. Most of the characters and acting were so over the top.

RichC2

This felt like ChatGPT was told to generate a screenplay with the top 15 movie cliches mixed in.

JeffTheAlpaca

I liked it

Maybe it is just me but I also loved the Terminal too.

Maybe have a Kleenex box ready.

The cat was cute and I liked his neighbors except the gun who was run walking or whatever he was doing.

I hated all or most of the songs and then found out Rita Wilson was involved ouch.

JeffTheAlpaca

It premieres on Netflix streaming May 5, 2023

Giantrobo

Finally saw this. It let me know early on it was going to be a "Magical Negro" film, not Tom Hanks first "MN" film BTW..... So I accepted that and still managed to enjoy it and get choked up in parts. As mentioned it was predictable...not mind blowing. I think part of the appeal though was seeing the world's favorite nice guy, Tom Hanks, in an Asshole role.

devilshalo

Far from just the grumpy old man film I thought it would be.. but once the disclaimer came up at the beginning, I understood what to expect. Never read the book or saw the original film to compare.

Count Dooku

Huh?

JeffTheAlpaca

A grumpy old man but he never was a racist in the movie which was a good thing.

Giantrobo

I included a link with an explanation. Yes, this was a "Magical Negro" film. Still enjoyed it, but it is what it is...

Count Dooku

I appreciate the link, but I am familiar with the expression.

This is not a Magical Negro film. First, there was no magical black person in the film. And even if you take liberties with what is "magic" and expand "negro" to include any non-white character, nothing like that happened in the plot.

What happened in the movie was that Otto felt useless and alone and wanted to die. New neighbors gave him a purpose because THEY repeatedly needed HIS help. Slowly Otto realized that he could be of use to other people, and did not have to feel alone.

Otto was depressed and suicidal. Nobody waved a magic wand and fixed him. There was no plot device that changed him. The story was a step-by-step exercise in practical therapy with Otto helping himself by helping others.

Basically you are saying any movie where a white character comes out better in the end because they interacted with minorities is a MN film, and that ain't so. For one thing, in an MN film, the magic negro only exists to improve the life of the white protagonist, and that is absolutely not the case with Otto, as all the "magical negroes" in the film benefit greatly from Otto's involvement in their lives.

Giantrobo

Sorry, it is. Latine Family, the wife Marisol in particular, shows him how to open up and live again. Not sure what film you saw...

Though there were Black folks in this film, the "MN" role was again, the wife Marisol. And yes, when you use "people of color" like this to make a white character better it falls under the "MN" trope. It's like killing a Female character so a male character can advance in his arc. It's a lazy writing thing.

Marisol and her family showed him the way...


Again..Marisol and her family showed him the way... And it doesn't have to be literal "magic".

Uhm..Yes. If you truly understood the expression "Magical Negro" and why it's used, you'd easily see it in this film.


They don't have to die or be in trouble to help the character change. But they are only there to make Otto realize he's a miserable asshole due to trauma. Otherwise Otto never learns to do better.

Count Dooku

That's really fucking reductive, and as soon as you take the "magic" and the "negro" out of the equation, you're just describing every movie where a white character changes for the better.

Is "Top Gun; Maverick" a MN film because it is through his interactions with the other characters in the film that Maverick comes out being a better person at the end?

Can "As Good As It Gets" be a MN film because it is a woman and a gay guy that cure Melvin?

Giantrobo

Yeah, it would seem that way. I guess the opposite side of the coin is when it's the streetwise white person who comes in, sits backwards on their chair, and teaches "rough" people of color(Blacks, Latine, Asians, etc) how to be better white people so they fit into white society?

I feel like you're giving me shit for this, but all you have to do is read the Wiki or Google the phrase for clarity... even if you don't agree. Again, you say you understand the expression but your posts say otherwise. And that's ok. But don't be mad at me. I didn't invent the expression nor did I invent the age old "Magical Negro" trope.

As far as Maverick, he mostly interacted with white characters. Well, he yelled at another Pilot who was Black but that Pilot didn't figure into anything more than that scene so I would say NO.

You left out the Black Guy (Cuba Gooding Jr.) or did you mean he was the Gay guy? There were 2 it seems. Anyway, all three, the Woman, the Black, and the Gay contributed to the white man realizing he needed to be a better man AND...MUCH LIKE OTTO...he realized it via HELPING THEM.... so frankly, YES. Come to think of it, that's a TROPE as well...White guy always has what others (often minorities or women) need and others always being IN need...

Again...I enjoyed A Man Called Otto and I've enjoyed many other similar films with the "Magical Negro" trope in play. The trope is not necessarily a bad thing, just kinda tropey.

A Short list of Tom Hanks Films using this Trope:
-The Green Mile
-Forest Gump
-A Man Called Otto

OldBoy

I don’t even want to say it, but that term above sounds so morally reprehensible.

Count Dooku

Forrest Gump !?!?

Okay, now I know you have no fucking idea what you are talking about. Good luck selling your pillows on TV.

William Fuld

Take it up with Spike Lee.

RichC2

Based on Spike Lee's definition of the term he coined, neither Forrest Gump nor A Man Called Otto remotely fit under that trope. The Green Mile 100% does.

White Savior trope.

Also all these trope names are dumb, it's another label for cliche and no matter what you file it under - this was a cliche ass "surrogate family" movie.

Giantrobo

Lee coined the term but the trope goes way back. Also, if you ONLY use the MN definition based on Lee's comment and say that it is a "Literal Magical Black Person" then sure. However, others have expanded on the concept and Forrest Gump and A Man Called Otto both use this trope.

Yes

Ok, if you say so. This films is Tropey as Fuck but still enjoyable.

Giantrobo

Or..you can't get past a narrow definition of a phrase that has more to it than just "Magic" and "Negroes"? Anyway, Google "Magical Negro and Forrest Gump". You can stay mad, but you'll get lots of hits supporting the fact the film has this trope.

And DVDTALKERS get a discount on my Pillows so hit me up if you want to order.

JeffTheAlpaca

Could this discussion be confused with the white savior theme that ticks some people off?